3. The Empress

Let’s play today.

With synchronicity, another of Jung’s principles. In some previous cards there’s been a bit of active imagination. Today, I’ll switch it up.

The Empress is feminine power. Feminine sensual power is painted all over the card in the Rider Waite Deck. The Empress is Venus in Taurus and yet is often considered as a fire sign. Synchronistically, the news is showing an anchor reporter doing a bungee jump. This is a particular kind of Empress who takes such active athletic risks.

My first connection with this card is from the Rider Waite Smith deck. The Empress is Venus in the sign of Taurus. Venus is the ruler of Taurus. Later in the journey of the major arcana we may meet Venus, ruler of Libra, when we reach the Justice card, the 8th of the Tarot major arcana.

Venus rises from the ocean, so the mythology says. The Empress wears a black and white gown and if you look carefully at just under where the front knee would be placed, there appears to be the symbol of black Lilith, a black crescent atop the cross of matter. The crescent denotes the mind and the cross denotes matter. Lilith is an archetype of a woman who thinks for herself, does not conform to the expectations of patriarchy,

Rising from the ocean reminds us of the Hans Christian Anderson story of The Mermaid. The Little Mermaid gains and loses from a place where there is desire well met or unmet. In Hans Christian Anderson story adapted by Disney, in order to meet the love of her life she loses her voice.